[News] Mike Richards on waivers - CLEARS

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Make no mistake, if the flames acquire Richards, he will be bought out at some point. It's part of the cost of acquisition.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Richards is another Wade Redden. Let's not pretend he's a hockey asset. Any deal will be strictly about what LA offers in exchange for the cap hit.

Exactly, richards doesn't fit into your lineup and you don't play him for a year or two to see if he can bounce back.

You trade for him and buy him out in the offseason.

The trade revolves around how much is LA willing to give to Calgary to not have between 1.5 and 5 million dollars of unusable cap space for the next 7 years.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

The trade revolves around how much is LA willing to give to Calgary to not have between 1.5 and 5 million dollars of unusable cap space for the next 7 years.

Which is why they need to give us someone who will outperform his contract by about $5 million when it matters to us. What asset has that value? I'm thinking "one player or draft pick of Calgary's choice at any time over the next ten years" as a ballpark estimate.

There's no way we're getting anything close to that, and thus no way we should be making a deal.

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

You'd have thought GMs would have learned after Vincent Lecavalier's career, but nope.

Fans stay with their teams longer than GMs. Perhaps that is our advantage.

[Enoch Root]

One thing to keep in mind though, is that his actual salary declines a fair bit over the life of the contract. This makes him (somewhat) attractive to a floor team in 2 or 3 years.

I am not worried at all about the salary for 2 years. By year 3, it would be great to move him if at all possible. And if the Flames were willing to retain some salary, combined with the fact that his actual salary is less than his cap hit, it might not be impossible to find a home for him.

[transplant99]

I personally dont think you see Richards moved until the summer...if at all this year.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by transplant99

I personally dont think you see Richards moved until the summer...if at all this year.

The problem with that is that you need to sign guys before July.

If Toffoli and/or Pearson become RFAs and are exposed to offer sheets, Lombardi's problem gets much bigger

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

The problem with that is that you need to sign guys before July.

If Toffoli and/or Pearson become RFAs and are exposed to offer sheets, Lombardi's problem gets much bigger

they can also go 10% over the ceiling until October though as well (so somewhere around 87 million through Sept. if necessary)...when you add in the expiring deals they have, he will be ok in that sense.

This has become a real problem though that will require a hard decision or two at some point.

As for offer sheets...im not so sure they have become a thing of the past for the most part. They simply dont work.

[dissentowner]

Yeah, originally I said I could see a way but now I say we just let LA choke on that contract.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by transplant99

As for offer sheets...im not so sure they have become a thing of the past for the most part. They simply dont work.

They haven't worked much because teams have typically matched. Lombardi's problem is that he may not have cap room to do so. I don't know if there's been a similar case ever.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

They haven't worked much because teams have typically matched. Lombardi's problem is that he may not have cap room to do so. I don't know if there's been a similar case ever.

Usually by now those guys would have been extended. Kind of a sign..

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by SebC

Which is why they need to give us someone who will outperform his contract by about $5 million when it matters to us. What asset has that value? I'm thinking "one player or draft pick of Calgary's choice at any time over the next ten years" as a ballpark estimate.

There's no way we're getting anything close to that, and thus no way we should be making a deal.



Fans stay with their teams longer than GMs. Perhaps that is our advantage.

Toffoli and a 1st round pick goes a long way for that for Calgary.

I can't really speculate on what the back and forth is, but if you can get Toffoli and another asset in exchange for the whole contract, I think it's something to really consider. Flames would be prevented from being a cap team, but it wouldn't necessarily be a crippling move if you have a reasonably priced Toffoli and another young player in the lineup as a result.

There are probably other pressures at play behind the scenes. The Team has reportedly been for sale for a couple of years now, and is a money losing franchise. Getting out from 30 million of liability might be more attractive to LA than it might appear on the surface.

I think the situation is ripe to walk away with a significant, significant trade return in exchange for a 7 year cap penalty.

[PIMking]

I dont know if I'd feel comfortable getting LAK out of a cap bind to allow them to get better.

[remember2004]

Originally Posted by PIMking

I dont know if I'd feel comfortable getting LAK out of a cap bind to allow them to get better.

If we won't or don't someone else most likely will.

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by remember2004

If we won't or don't someone else most likely will.

lol then let another team make that mistake.

The more teams involved in this, the better the situation is for LA. If LA has options to choose from, they give up less to get rid of that contract.

Stay away, Brad/Brian.

[badger89]

Originally Posted by remember2004

If we won't or don't someone else most likely will.

No they won't. That contract is untradable. They're not trading away any of their D (a position of need if Voynov doesn't return) and I really doubt they'd throw in a first. Looks like they're stuck with him, if they don't buy him out.

[Mattman]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Yeah, originally I said I could see a way but now I say we just let LA choke on that contract.

What's better?

Seeing LA choke and ruin into a maybe early, but eventual rebuild

or

Using the picks and players they trade to us, to harass them for an even longer period of time while they still choke and go into submission for a rebuild

We are going to be in this division for a long time, so we pretend to help them and be friends, while they slowly and painfully are forced into a friendship at the bottom of the league with our other BFFs the Edmonton Oilers

[Robo]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

lol then let another team make that mistake.

The more teams involved in this, the better the situation is for LA. If LA has options to choose from, they give up less to get rid of that contract.

Stay away, Brad/Brian.

i highly doubt there will be a bidding war over richards each GM probably will not stray from their asking price to take him.

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by Mattman

What's better?

Seeing LA choke and ruin into a maybe early, but eventual rebuild

or

Using the picks and players they trade to us, to harass them for an even longer period of time while they still choke and go into submission for a rebuild

We are going to be in this division for a long time, so we pretend to help them and be friends, while they slowly and painfully are forced into a friendship at the bottom of the league with our other BFFs the Edmonton Oilers

And then we can't re-sign those players because for some reason we have Mike Richards' giant contract still on the books.

[Karl]

Originally Posted by Azure

Everyone is saying don't help the Kings, but what if a team like Buffalo helps them and gets some prospects/roster players as well that the Flames could use? If we are in a position to make a good deal, we make it.

First of all, there is NOTHING that will make me want to take on that ridiculous Richards contract.

The prospect cupboard is no longer bare. The Flames now have some of the better rated prospects in their system and have a large number of them too. They are no longer desperate for a lot of good young players or prospects. There is NO NEED for the Flames to do this.

If a team like Buffalo or whatever other team it is does that deal and gets good prospects and/or players back then as compensation then so be it. GOOD FOR THEM!

We're going to need our that vast cap space we have when it comes time to re-sign our core players and prized young players in 2 years or later.

[Mattman]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

And then we can't re-sign those players because for some reason we have Mike Richards' giant contract still on the books.

That's when we force Mike Richards into retirement